Cabinet Maker Job Description: Template, Duties, Requirements & Pay (2026)
A cabinet maker builds cabinets, casework and fixtures in a shop — reading drawings, cutting and machining parts, assembling, fitting hardware and preparing pieces for finish. It is bench and machine work, not jobsite framing, and it pays differently from carpentry. Below is a copy-paste cabinet maker job description template, the requirements worth keeping, how to write the posting for a custom shop versus a production plant, and what it costs to reach woodworkers on social.
What a cabinet maker does
The federal occupation is cabinetmakers and bench carpenters: people who "cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines". O*NET's task list reads like a shop day. Establish the specifications from blueprints, drawings or verbal instructions; measure and mark stock; set up and run saws, jointers, shapers and boring machines; match material for color and grain; assemble with glue, dowels, screws and clamps; install hinges, pulls and drawer hardware; trim, sand and scrape joints for finishing; and verify dimensions and fit before a piece leaves the bench.
Where the work happens shapes the job. For the wider woodworker group the BLS reports that 42% work in furniture and related product manufacturing and 37% in wood product manufacturing; only 3% work for specialty trade contractors. Most cabinet makers, in other words, are hired by manufacturers and shops, and a posting that reads like a construction job misses how the work is actually organized.
The occupation is not growing. The BLS projects employment to fall 2.9% between 2025 and 2035, yet it still expects about 6,900 openings a year as people retire or move on. A shrinking occupation still has to be hired for, and most openings come from people leaving the work rather than from growth.
Cabinet maker job description template
Copy this into your ATS, replace the bracketed fields, and cut what does not apply. Skilled shop candidates read for pay, the kind of work, the machines, and whether they need their own tools.
Job title
Cabinet Maker — [Custom Residential / Commercial Casework / Production], [Full-time], [City]
Summary
[Company] builds [custom kitchens, built-ins and furniture / commercial casework and store fixtures] in our [X,000 sq ft] shop in [city, state]. We are hiring a cabinet maker to build from shop drawings, start to finish. Pay is $[XX.XX]–$[XX.XX]/hour depending on experience. Schedule is [Mon–Fri, 7am–3:30pm]. [No field installs / occasional installs with our install crew].
Responsibilities
- Read shop drawings and cut lists; plan the build sequence for each job
- Set up and operate table saw, jointer, planer, [edge bander, CNC router, line boring machine]
- Build face-frame and [frameless / European-style] boxes, doors and drawers
- Match stock for grain and color; select and prepare [hardwood, plywood, melamine] panels
- Assemble with glue, fasteners and clamps; install hinges, slides and hardware
- Sand and prepare pieces for finish; [apply finish in spray booth, if assigned]
- Check dimensions, square and fit before pieces leave the bench
- Keep machines, dust collection and work area clean and safe
Requirements
- [2+] years building cabinets, casework or furniture in a production or custom shop [adjust by level]
- Able to read shop drawings and work to [1/32"] tolerances
- Safe, confident operation of standard shop machines
- Able to lift [75] lbs with help and stand for a full shift in a shop with noise and dust
- [Valid driver's license, if the role includes deliveries or installs]
Preferred
- CNC router experience or [Cabinet Vision / Microvellum / Mozaik] software
- Finishing or spray-booth experience
- Completed woodworking or cabinetmaking apprenticeship or program
Schedule and pay
- $[XX.XX]–$[XX.XX]/hour by experience; review at [90 days]
- [Mon–Fri, 40 hours; overtime paid at time and a half when needed]
- [Shop provides all machines and hand tools / bring your own hand tools]
Benefits
- Health, dental and vision from day [1 / 30 / 60]
- Paid time off and [X] paid holidays
- [401(k) with X% match]
- [Tool allowance], [safety glasses, hearing protection and respirators provided]
- [Paid training on CNC and design software]
Requirements: what to keep, what to soften, and what to add
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Years of experience | Tier it instead of using one number. "Shop helper, no experience", "cabinet maker, 2+ years" and "lead, builds from drawings unsupervised" are three postings. One posting asking for five years removes everyone you could have trained; the BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as the typical path. |
| CNC and design software | Soften to preferred unless the seat is the CNC. The BLS notes CNC certification is offered by community colleges and machine manufacturers — something you can pay for after hire. Name your software either way; people who know it will say so. |
| Own tools | Say exactly what you provide. "Bring your own tools" with no list reads as a cost the candidate cannot estimate. |
| Reading shop drawings | Keep it. It is the skill that separates a cabinet maker from a helper, and it is fair to test at interview. |
| Finishing and respirators | Disclose it if the job includes spraying. The BLS notes woodworkers regularly wear hearing protection, safety glasses and respirators or masks. Where a respirator is required, OSHA's respiratory protection standard requires a medical evaluation before fit testing or use, and fit testing for tight-fitting respirators (29 CFR 1910.134). Put it in the posting so it is not a surprise in week one. |
| Résumé upload | Drop it. Ask for years of experience, the machines they have run and a photo of recent work. Shop candidates' work speaks more clearly than a résumé. |
Cabinet maker or carpenter? Why the title matters
These are different federal occupations with different pay. The BLS median for carpenters was $60,580 in 2025; for cabinetmakers and bench carpenters it was $46,680 in May 2025. A construction carpenter who sees "cabinet" in a title may assume shop pay; a shop cabinet maker who sees "finish carpenter" may assume a jobsite. If the job is building in the shop, say cabinet maker. If it is installing cabinets and trim in homes, O*NET lists "cabinet installer" among this occupation's titles, but the work and the candidate pool sit closer to finish carpentry — see our carpenter job description for that version.
The other title trap is production versus custom. Production cabinet plants run edge banders, CNC routers and assembly lines; O*NET's sample titles for the occupation include "cabinet assembler". Posting a plant assembly job as "Cabinet Maker" attracts custom-shop craftspeople who will leave when they find a line, and it hides the job from the production workers who would stay.
How to customize it for your setting
Custom residential shop
Candidates want to know how much of each job one person builds, whether they will do installs, and how quality is judged. Name your construction style — face-frame, frameless or inset — and the species you work in most.
Production cabinet plant
Post the station, the line rate and the shift. The fair comparison candidates make is with other production jobs, so pay, differential and schedule belong in the first line. Our assembler job description covers the line-work version.
Commercial casework and store fixtures
Laminate, solid surface and hospital or lab casework are a distinct specialty. Say whether the shop works to architectural drawings, whether there is a separate engineering or drafting department, and whether jobs are union or prevailing wage.
Apprentice or shop helper
"Cabinetmaker" is an apprenticeship title approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, according to O*NET. If you run a structured program — registered or not — post the helper role with the path written out: what they learn in months one to six, when they run machines, and the pay steps.
What it costs to reach cabinet makers on social
Our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta) does not segment cabinet makers or woodworkers, so there is no cabinet-specific figure to quote. Across all roles, the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant, with the middle half of campaigns between $6.48 and $29.74.
That is advertising cost only — an applicant, not a hire. What moves the number most is what happens after the click: across the benchmark, apply rate explains more of the difference between cheap and expensive campaigns than the ad auction does. For a skilled shop role, that argues for a short form with a work-photo upload over a long application.
If you are hiring woodworkers rather than describing the job, the recruiting side — where skilled trades workers actually are and what the ad has to say — is on our skilled trades recruiting page; production cabinet plants will find the line-hiring detail on our manufacturing recruiting page.
Writing the ad version
The ad on Facebook or Instagram leads with the thing a cabinet maker cares about most after pay: what they will be building. Something like: "Cabinet Maker — $24–$30/hr. Custom kitchens and built-ins, built start to finish. Mon–Fri, no weekends. Full shop, SawStop and CNC. Apply in 60 seconds with a photo of your work."
A photo of the shop or a finished kitchen outperforms stock imagery for trades roles, because it answers the question every experienced candidate has: is this a real shop? Keep the form to experience, machines run and the work photo. Our help wanted ad examples library has more worked examples, and where to find skilled trades workers covers the channels.
Frequently asked questions
What does a cabinet maker do?
A cabinet maker reads shop drawings, cuts and machines parts on saws, jointers, shapers and CNC routers, matches wood for grain and color, assembles boxes, doors and drawers, installs hinges and hardware, and prepares pieces for finishing. In a custom shop one person may build a whole job; in a production plant the work is split into stations, which is why the posting should name the setting.
How much do cabinet makers make?
The BLS median for cabinetmakers and bench carpenters was $22.44 an hour, or $46,680 a year, in May 2025. That is well below the 2025 median for carpenters, $60,580, which is one reason to title a shop job carefully: construction carpenters and shop cabinet makers compare the posting against different pay expectations.
What qualifications does a cabinet maker need?
The BLS lists a high school diploma and moderate-term on-the-job training as the typical path, and notes that some workers train through apprenticeships and that CNC certification is offered by community colleges and machine manufacturers. Employers usually look for experience reading shop drawings and running standard shop machines safely. Formal certification is rarely required.
Is cabinet making a growing occupation?
No. BLS projections show employment of cabinetmakers and bench carpenters falling 2.9% between 2025 and 2035. The BLS still projects about 6,900 openings a year over the decade, mostly from workers retiring or leaving the occupation, so shops hiring experienced cabinet makers are competing for a small pool.
What is the difference between a cabinet maker and a cabinet installer?
A cabinet maker builds cabinets in a shop; a cabinet installer sets them in homes or buildings, leveling, scribing and fastening them on site. O*NET lists cabinet installer among the titles in the cabinetmaker occupation, but the day-to-day work, driving, and customer contact of installs are closer to finish carpentry, so post them as separate jobs.
Running a CNC-heavy shop? The CNC operator job description covers the machine seat as its own role, and the carpenter job description covers finish and install work on site.
Other job description templates
- Carpenter job description
- CNC operator job description
- Assembler job description
- Machine operator job description
- Painter job description
See all job description templates — free, editable templates for frontline, trades, healthcare and warehouse roles.
Hiring cabinet makers?
The job description is the document; the ad is what gets read. We write it, run it where skilled shop workers are actually scrolling, and report what each applicant cost — cost per applicant, not cost per hire.
Pay and employment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, cabinetmakers and bench carpenters (SOC 51-7011), read via the BLS OEWS data search; projections, openings, entry education and training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35; industries, training and work environment: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Woodworkers (last modified August 27, 2026); carpenter pay: BLS OOH, Carpenters; tasks, titles and apprenticeship: O*NET 51-7011.00; respirators: 29 CFR 1910.134. All read at source on September 28, 2026. Cost-per-applicant figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta), report-wide figures only because the benchmark does not segment cabinet makers; advertising costs only. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire. Updated September 2026.